16 December 2008

this is our traditional Christmas morning breakfast. one of my twitterfriends asked for this recipe, so here it is from mike

This is a Christmas morning tradition from the Berger household that we have continued. Since we usually make this in the winter, we use frozen strawberries. You can use fresh strawberries or other berries. Just cut them up, add sugar and let it sit in the fridge for a while. The sugar will macerate -- draw out the juice from -- the berries.

Place flour into a shallow pie plate, add eggs and most of the milk. Whisk until smooth, adding additional milk to thin out the mixture, if needed. You are looking for thinner than a paste, but thick enough to not be absorbed by the bread. You want the batter to coat the bread, but not be soaked up by the bread.

Heat 1-2 inches of oil in a cast iron skillet or heavy bottomed saucepan. Dredge bread triangles in batter, turning to coat on all sides (I find it easiest to handle the bread in the batter using 2 forks). Fry until golden brown, turning once. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve warm, topped with powdered sugar and strawberries, or maple syrup.

Strawberry toast is best served on Christmas morning with mimosas and sausage from Vincek's Smokehouse, East Bernard, Texas. Here's to Christmas morning traditions.

Well, I took a big risk and tried your recipe on Christmas morning, and I'm just so HAPPY I did; we all are. That is one of the BEST things I've ever tasted in my life. I added a little fresh grated nutmeg and lemon rind, and a spot of vanilla. I also used thickly sliced french bread (crust-on). We all decided this tastes like doughnuts (without the holes), but BETTER. Absolutely delightful. Mom declared it the official winner of the Christmas breakfast tradition. And Dad said it was even good without the powdered sugar or strawberries. Thank you so much for the extra effort to post this just in time for our making this wonderful memory. Feeling grateful for you.

Hey there! I know that if you fry properly, barely any oil is retained in the food....but I've never managed to fry properly!

I do now own a Lodge cast iron skillet, but our dang apartment-issue stove is the pits. The big burner is varying levels of "high". In my past frying attempts I either have it too high or too low. I guess I need to get a proper thermometer?